Opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana launched the “Don’t Let Florida Go to Pot” campaign Tuesday, warning that passing the measure would lead to widespread abuse. Proponents of the measure are discrediting the campaign.
Rights & Liberties
ACLU Sues Sarasota Police For Access To Records On Cell Phone “Stingray” Tracking Program
The ACLU of Florida has been seeking public records for several months now from about 30 police departments and sheriffs’ offices all over Florida in an effort to access whether or not police are not trampling on privacy rights.
Florida Leads Nation in Inmates Who Serve 100% Of Their Sentence, Increasing Chance of Re-Offending When Released
A new study by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds Florida leading the nation in inmates who “max out” their sentences — serving 100 percent of their time and being released with no supervision beyond the prison gates, thus increasing the chance of re-offending. Almost a third do re-offend.
Sunshine Lows: Cities and Counties Do a Lousy Job of Sharing Information With Citizens
When the First Amendment Foundation publicized its transparency scorecard last month, it found that on average, cities and counties in Florida had lots of room for improvement in sharing the workings of government with the governed.
In a Defeat For Non-English Speakers, Court Bars Entitlement to Spanish-Speaking Shrinks in Workers-Comp Claims
In what could be a first-of-its-kind decision in Florida, an appeals court ruled Tuesday that a man suffering from head injuries was not entitled to treatment from a Spanish-speaking psychologist as part of a workers-compensation insurance claim.
No Castle Doctrine: A Homeowner Is Arrested in F Section For Refusing to Let In Cops to Serve a Warrant
Susan Jones, for more than seven years a home owner on Palm Coast’s Ferdinand Lane, was arrested when she attempted to refuse entry to deputies who wanted to serve an arrest warrant on another woman staying in Jones’s house.
Alan Grayson Amendment Puts NSA on Notice Over Encryption Standards
An amendment filed by Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla. and adopted by a House committee would, if enacted, take a step toward removing the National Security Agency from the business of meddling with encryption standards that protect security on the Internet.
U.S. Supreme Court Declares Florida’s Death Penalty Too Rigid in Low I.Q. Cases
The court, in a 5-4 decision, said Florida’s use of an IQ score of 70 “creates an unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disability will be executed, and thus is unconstitutional.” “Intellectual disability is a condition, not a number,” wrote Justice Kennedy for the majority.
Double-Killing in Ormond Beach:
Not Murder-Suicide, But Mercy and Heroism
Shortly after midnight today John Poucher, 89, shot his wife Barbara, 86, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, then shot himself. The killings will be logged inaccurately as a murder-suicide. The crime is that we live in a society still too barbaric to give assisted suicide and mercy killing its due.
Florida Prisons Want To Slash Kosher Offerings; Justice Department Says It Would Be Illegal
In a brief filed Monday, lawyers for the Department of Corrections argued that the law allows Florida to scrap the kosher meals because of the financial burden placed on the “cash-strapped agency.” The state has spent more than $200,000 on the lawsuit so far.